Warriors restoring faith
Transplanted side earn respect but match marred by alleged abuse
Don’t be surprised if you see a resurgence of faith in the weeks ahead.
As soon as the Warriors were forced to shift across the Tasman for the season, many wrote them off as simply doing their part to make up the numbers. To be fair, there was little in the first few weeks of the restarted competition to show otherwise.
Now, after their performance against the competition-leading Penrith Panthers last night, the Warriors are making believers out of everyone.
It will be unsurprising to many to read the Warriors fell short against the Panthers but the 18-12 score and how they performed showed they are capable of making a late run.
But an enthralling match was marred by alleged racial abuse during the first half directed at Penrith wing Brent Naden. Eight fans were escorted by police from the venue.
The NRL are investigating the incident and acting chief executive Andrew Abdo condemned the incident last night.
“Racism and vilification will not be tolerated in our game,” he said.
“Any fan found to have racially abused a player or another fan will not be welcome at our games.
“We will work closely with NSW Police, stadium authorities and the clubs to determine the facts and take decisive action against anyone guilty of racial abuse.”
Warriors chief executive Cameron George also responded to the controversy, saying the club “did not condone any sort of racial remarks towards anyone playing rugby league or in general and we completely support a tough stance against this behaviour”.
Coming into the game, the Panthers had won 11 and lost just once this year. This season, they have averaged 26 points for and 14 against.
Given they had more than 60 per cent of possession and spent plenty of time in Warriors territory, it was an impressive defensive effort from the side with the third-worst points differential in the competition.
And they had their chances to at least draw within two points of the Panthers late on, with chances down both edges going begging.
A look at the stats from the opening half hour painted the picture. The Panthers completed their opening 24 sets and forced dropouts at will — halfback Nathan Cleary had the ball on a string all night — as they enjoyed more than 70 per cent of the early ball. In the same time the Panthers had 24 sets, the Warriors had fewer than 10.
In that period, the Panthers took advantage of two Warriors mistakes to build a 10-0 lead.
Naden opened the scoring after his Warriors opposite George Jennings rushed out of the defensive line to break up a Cleary pass, only to see it float over his head to the unmarked Penrith wing.
The second saw Warriors prop Lachlan Burr in possession on the final play of the set. He tried to offload to a back but instead found Penrith speedster and rookie of the year frontrunner Stephen Crichton, who bolted down field.
He was stopped, but the Panthers crossed through hooker Apisai Koroisau moments later.
The Panthers crossed again through fullback Dylan Edwards as the clock ticked over the half hour mark, and at 16-0, it looked ugly for the Warriors.
However, with their backs to the wall all half, the Warriors got on the board with the final play before the break when a pinpoint Chanel HarrisTavita kick was gathered in by fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who did well to get the ball to the line.
The Warriors were first to cross in the second half, when after a
20-minute stalemate, winger Patrick Herbert went over out wide.
Smothering the Panthers attack for the majority of the match, the Warriors were given the ultimate nod of respect by the visitors when they opted to kick a penalty goal despite holding terrific field position.
Those were the only points the Panthers scored in the second half, and the final act on the scoreboard, as they held off the Warriors for a club record ninth win in a row.
Panthers 18 (Brent Naden, Apisai Koroisau, Dylan Edwards tries; Nathan Cleary 3 goals)
Warriors 12 (Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Patrick Herbert tries; Herbert 2 goals) Halftime: 16-6.
● The St George Illawarra Dragons farewelled coach Paul Mc Gregor in style with a hard-fought 14-12 win over the Parramatta Eels last night.
The third-placed Eels twice took the lead by scoring the first try in each half, but both times, the 12th-placed Dragons edged back in front, inflicting just Parramatta’s third defeat in 14 games this season.
t in 14 games this season.